Editor’s Note: The NLL Top 25 was voted on by the League’s Head Coaches and General Managers.
The National Lacrosse League is known for end-to-end action and high-scoring, drama filled competition. With close games and huge comebacks ruling the day, the player positioned as the very last line of defense takes on an outsized role in the successes and failures of his team. 60 minutes of lacrosse often comes down to a goaltender’s ability to keep one last shot attempt from lighting up the lamp. NLL goalies are a big deal!
5. Christopher Origlieri
At a mere 21-years-old, the San Diego Seals keeper ranks as one of the NLL’s brightest young stars. After debuting as the youngest player in the league, at an unthinkable 19-years-old, the Orangeville, Ontario product quickly emerged as his team’s top choice in net. Origlieri’s play led to the perineal championship contender trading Frank Scigliano to the Saskatchewan Rush, prior to the 2023-24 season, and rewarded the young star with a five-year contract. Last season, the 2021 second round pick, posted a 13-5 record, with a 9.79 GAA and 79 per cent save percentage, renumerating the Seals front office’s decision. Origlieri brings his 17 career wins into a season in which San Diego has elected to go all in, in hopes of finally securing that elusive championship. Despite the veteran laden nature of the roster, this 21-year-old is the undisputed man between the pipes for the Southern California squad.
Another Orangeville, Ontario native earns his spot in the Top 25… this time, a veteran. The 36-year-old Toronto Rock goalie has served as one of the NLL’s most dynamic stoppers going back more than a decade. The Boston Blazers draft pick took a one-year pit stop with the Calgary Roughnecks, before landing back home in 2012, and the 6’0, 285 lbs. powerhouse has established himself as a staple of the Toronto/Hamilton lacrosse community in the years since. Last season, Rose’s resume featured a 15-2 record, with a stellar 9.18 GAA and 81 per cent save percentage. A model of consistency, Rose has won at least 12 games during four of the last five campaigns, while going four straight years with a GAA under 10.0. The man just gets it done, day-after-day and year-after-year. When not lacing them up in an NLL arena, the 2024 Goaltender of the Year serves as general manager of the TRAC, the Rock owned lacrosse training center situated in the Toronto suburb of Oakville.
3. Brett Dobson
While names like Lyle Thompson and Shayne Jackson shine the brightest when discussing the Georgia Swarm, arguably, the man most responsible for the current roster’s ability to make a playoff run is 24-year-old Brett Dobson. Selected 11th overall in the 2022 Draft, the Oshawa, Ontario export quickly became a factor in the crease. During his rookie season in 2022-23, he tallied an 8-7 mark, with a 10.69 GAA and 78 per cent save percentage, earning the St. Bonaventure alum a second-place finish in Rookie of the Year balloting. Dobson followed up his first year showing by notching a 10-7 record, to go along with an 11.18 GAA and the very same 78 per cent save percentage. Not coincidently, Dobson’s fortunes matched that of his team, as the Swarm flipped from 8-10 to 10-8, enroute to a playoff appearance. Heading into the 2024-2025 journey, the Duluth, Georgia based organization is no doubt feeling really good about the guy tasked with making sure the other team does not out do the efforts of the aforementioned Mr. Thompson and Mr. Jackson.
2. Matt Vinc
The Buffalo Bandits goalkeeper is quite possibly the best there has ever been at his position. Vinc has won five NLL titles, eight Goaltender of the Year awards, and the unbridled respect of any player or coach who has ever competed with or against him. The man nicknamed “Vino” is the all-time NLL leader in wins, saves and minutes played. If one were to create a prototypical NLL goalie from scratch in a lab, Matt Vinc would appear. At 42-years-young, the St. Catharines, Ontario native does not appear to be slowing down. Vinc has had the best seat in the house for the Bandits run of back-to-back NLL titles, wearing the mask for Buffalo’s 5-0 march through the Knighthawks, Rock and FireWolves. Last season, the ageless wonder secured an 11-5 record, with a 11.34 GAA and 78 per cent save percentage. The former Canisius University Male Athlete of the Year was drafted all the way back in 2005 by the San Jose Stealth (who would later become the Vancouver Warriors). After stops in New York, Orlando and Rochester (eight seasons with the former version of the Knighthawks), Vinc returned to Buffalo in 2019, serving as the driving force behind his team’s current run of near unparalleled historic achievement.
Doug Jamieson made 52 saves and held Halifax to its fewest goals in a game all season, as the FireWolves defeat the Thunderbirds 9-3 to advance to the Semifinals.
The Albany FireWolves netminder is a presence to behold, both in terms of stature and aura. The proud native and resident of Six Nations of the Grand River (Canada’s most populous First Nation), the Mohawk, Bear Clan member has developed into one of the best goalies in the world. The 6-3, 275 lbs. force was originally drafted by the New England Black Wolves in 2016, later making the move with the club to Albany in 2021. The soon-to-be 28-year-old earned Goaltender of the Year honors in 2020, while finishing as a finalist for the award during the FireWolves magical run to the NLL Finals in 2024. Jamieson played spectacular box lacrosse during his team’s coming of age season, finishing third in the league with a 10.22 GAA and second in the league with an 80 per cent save percentage. While Albany’s young core of Alex Simmons, Tye Kurtz and Ethan Walker garner much of the attention, Jamieson performance in net is among one of the biggest factors concerning how far this team truly can go. Already possessing three Minto Cup crowns, Jamieson is hoping to add an NLL triumph to his ever-growing chronicle of career accomplishment
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